Filed under: Eugene Realty Listings, Real Estate | Tags: 2010 real estate sales, distressed property eugene springfield oregon, Eugene Real Estate Blog, lane county real estate sales
With all the interest in short sales and foreclosed properties in Eugene – Springfield, I decided to take a look at the sales statistics for 2010. Normal, non-distressed, sales comprised about 3 out of 4 sales in Lane County.
Bank owned properties, also called REO (real estate owned) and foreclosures, were a little more common than 1 in 6 sales in Lane County. Short sales were 8 % of last year’s sales, or fewer than 1 in 10.
With distressed sales making up 1 in 4 sales in Lane County in 2010, it still makes them far more frequent than in years past. It was and still remains a buyers market in Eugene and Springfield, Oregon.
1 in 4 Sales in Lane County were Distressed in 2010
Filed under: Eugene Realty Listings, People and Business, Real Estate | Tags: cash, Craig Tomlinson, eugene oregon, Eugene Real Estate, Eugene Real Estate Blog, house prices, House Prices Eugene Oregon, Lane County Real Estate, Oregon Real Estate, Springfield Real Estate
According to CNN, more homes are being purchased with cash these days. Obviously, if you’re purchasing a house with cash, you’re either well-off or, at the very least, not feeling the crunch of the Great Recession.
I took a look at the recent sales in the Eugene Springfield area as reported by RMLS to see if the trend held true to us. In the preceding month’s time period, about 20% were, indeed, cash sales.
That’s pretty high.
The homes did tend to be lower priced though. The most expensive listing sold during that month was my own listing—weighing in at nearly ¾ million dollars. It was not sold for cash, though; but rather a conventional loan was used.
High-end homes are still selling in Eugene.
Filed under: Eugene Realty Listings, Home Improvement, People and Business, Real Estate | Tags: Craig Tomlinson, eugene oregon, Eugene Real Estate, Eugene Real Estate Blog, Green building, house prices, Lane County Real Estate, leed, Oregon Real Estate Blog, springfield oregon, sustainablility
Cap rates for LEED certified commercial buildings are ½ percentage point better than for standard, non-green buildings. Green building is a nice concept, but the marketplace’s acceptance will really help it take hold.
In Eugene and Springfield, there are very few LEED certified buildings so it’s hard to know how they’ll fare in the marketplace. One problem with both commercial and residential green buildings is that appraisers don’t yet value them appropriately. Of course, that will change—but for now it can cause problems if lenders are involved.
More buildings are going green these days.
Filed under: People and Business, Real Estate | Tags: commercial real estate eugene oregon, construction, Craig Tomlinson, Eugene Real Estate, Eugene Real Estate Blog, Lane County, Oregon Real Estate, ORI, willamette river
Opponents of ORI’s proposed $17 million, 80,000-square-foot building are still trying to stop its construction.
I’m the first to admit that I sometimes miss the point—and this might be one of those times. However, it seems like having an internationally recognized institution with nice facilities would bring Eugene the kind of jobs that everyone likes—no pollution and minimal impact.
The banks of the Willamette: Contentious real estate.
Filed under: Loans/Financing/Credit, People and Business, Real Estate | Tags: Buyers Market, Craig Tomlinson, distressed properties, Eugene Real Estate Blog, HAMP, home ownership, mortgage modifications, oregon, Oregon Real Estate Blog, Real Estate Blog, Short sales
According to a recent WSJ article, most mortgage modifications don’t work. Less than 2% of the projected allotment of $75 billion for the HAMP program has actually been spent to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.
Nationwide, 6.7 million homes were lost to foreclosure or short sale in the decade ending in 2010. Half again as many are projected to meet the same fate in the next 3 years. If projections are accurate, that should keep it a buyer’s market through 2013.
The number of distressed properties in Eugene and Springfield isn’t exactly known—but they are common and I do a lot of them. Rejection from the HAMP program was about 3 of every 4 participants in the western states, including Oregon. If mortgage modification doesn’t work, a short sale may be a good option for you.
Most mortgage modificatins don't work.
Filed under: People and Business, Real Estate | Tags: Craig Tomlinson, Eugene Real Estate, home ownership, house prices, House Prices Eugene Oregon, housing crisis, Lane County Real Estate, price increase, Springfield Real Estate
Experts are saying the prices for houses are close to the bottom—meaning price increases are just around the corner. And, houses are becoming increasingly affordable. Nationally, house prices are less than two-years’ salary. In Lane County, though they’re still higher than that.
However home ownership is part of the American Dream and the net worth of home owners is some 40-times greater than renters.
Is home ownership in your dreams?
Filed under: Home Improvement, People and Business, Real Estate | Tags: Craig Tomlinson, Eugene Real Estate, Home Improvement, housing crisis, Lane County Real Estate, remodeling, Springfield Real Estate
Remodeling and renovating is another area of the market in Eugene and Springfield that fell on hard times during the Great Recession. We have bottomed-out though—and business is improving.
While home improvements don’t return dollar for dollar on resale, they still make sense if you plan to stay in the house for a period of time.
Rebuilding the housing market brick by brick.
Filed under: People and Business, Real Estate, Uncategorized | Tags: Craig Tomlinson, employment, eugene oregon, housing crisis, Lane County, logging, lumber, Springfield Real Estate, wood products
The logging and wood products industries are recovering, but slowly. Both are significant sources of employment in Lane County. Additionally, the housing market is the chief source of demand for wood products. Construction of more single-family houses is what’s needed, but building of such homes is at low levels around Eugene Springfield—and nationwide.
Before more new home building can start up, the inventory of existing homes for sale needs to decrease. In the meantime, it’s a great time to buy.
Filed under: Real Estate | Tags: Februrary 2011 Lane County Real Estate Market
According to recent market statistics released by RMLS, it’s still a buyer’s market for real estate in Lane County. February 2011 showed another month of a soft market.
Highlights are:
• Typical sales price about 200K. (Median: 192K, Mean: 214K).
• About 1 year’s inventory on the market. Figures greater than 6 months indicate a buyer’s market.
• Time on the market from listing to sale: close to ½ year. This increase could be due to the larger number of distressed properties on the market, which often take longer to sell.
• Median house price in Eugene Springfield was 159K, falling to values not seen in seven years.
It’s a good time to buy, and things are still selling. Contact me if you’re interested in buying or selling real estate in Eugene.
Continued downward pressure on Lane County real estate in February 2011
Filed under: Real Estate, Uncategorized | Tags: 2011 Home Construction Eugene Springfield Oregon, Craig Tomlinson, eugene oregon, Eugene Real Estate, Eugene Real Estate Blog, Lane County Real Estate, Oregon Real Estate, Oregon Real Estate Blog, Real Estate Blog, Real Estate Information, Real Estate News, Real Estate Resource, Springfield Real Estate
New home construction fell to an all time low in February 2011, with an annualized national number of building permits at 517K. In Eugene Springfield new residential building is very slow right now. New building permits issued in January were reported to be 27, down 13% from January 2010. 466 building permits were issued in Eugene Springfield for all of last year.
Distressed properties are often cheaper than replacement cost, and there’s a lot of inventory of all types of houses to be sold; until both of those change, I don’t expect new house building to pick up much.
It’s still a great time to buy, though. Prices are down in Eugene Springfield and there are some great values.
There are fewer homes being built in Eugene Springfield in 2011
